Background

In 1889, the governor of Okinawa requested the establishment of a kokuhei chūsha, not only "to cultivate the spirit of reverence and respect", but also on the grounds that this would be "invaluable in the government of the prefecture".[4]Naminoue Shrine was proposed as the candidate. In 1910 it was proposed a new prefectural shrine(県社,kensha) be established in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of the ascension to the throne of the Meiji emperor. Four years later there were similarly unsuccessful proposals to establish a prefectural shrine in the grounds of Naminoue-gū. In 1915 the prefectural government proposed to the Home Ministry the foundation of a shrine dedicated to Shō Tai, Amamikyo and Shinerikyo; this was rejected on the grounds that the central figures of the Ryukyuan creation myth were not part of the Shinto pantheon.[4]

After 1945

Okinawa Shrine on 11 September 2009

Five years after the destruction of the shrine and most of the rest of the castle during the Battle of Okinawa, the University of the Ryukyus was established on the former castle site in May 1950.[2] Under United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands Proclamation 16 (USCAR 16) of 1952, concerning land with uncertain ownership, the shrine grounds were transferred to the administration of Shuri City, which two years later was merged into Naha.[2][10] In 1960, a proposal to rebuild the shrine on a plot to the east of the former castle main hall was vetoed by the University.[2] The following year a temporary shrine was erected by the entrance to Bengadake, construction work continuing into 1962.[2] In 1969 a tenancy agreement for the land occupied by the temporary shrine was agreed with Naha City by the Association for the Realization of the Reconstruction of Okinawa Shrine.[2] As of 2016, Okinawa Shrine is one eleven shrines overseen by the Okinawa Prefecture Shrine Agency, a branch of the Association of Shinto Shrines.[2][11]